Bearing caps or covers



Oct. 28,1958 L. M. COTCHETT 2,857,523

' BEARING CAPS 0R COVERS Filed Sept. 22, 1954 Unite States Patent BEARING 'CAPS R COVERS LouiszMrCotchett, Whitman; Mass, .assignor to' Textile Engineering Corporation, Whitman, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts This invention has relation "to'spin'ning and :roving frames, and'in particular to the shielding. of the bearing surfaces, which-supportthebottom steel-rolls of'the drawing mechanism in their working relation in the spinning or roving frame, from the entry of lint-and fly, dirt, and other foreign matter.

In spinning ancl roving framesiof't'he so-called'capbarless type in which the top drawing rolls are formed without journals and are held,-gu ided,-;and weighted 'solely by means engaging their necks aloneythe absence 'of the cap bars leaves the journals of the :bottom rolls and the open bearings provided therefor-on the roll stands completely exposed to the fall of :lint-and other matter directly onto these bearing surfaces." Previously, the cap bars provided for the top roll journals andlocated in closely'overlying relation to these bearings and journals shielded these parts so that'no" great botlier'arose from'this source; but'with'the discardingmf'thecap bars the problem'has become'acutei' The ever=presentilint and fly released through the drafting of"thefibers enters the bearings, adhering to the oil-coated"bottom'rolljournals or collecting and Wedging in theslots'or hearingson the roll stands in which the journals rotate, greatly increasing the friction and wasting power. The resistance to rotation of thebottom rolls sometimes; becomes so great as to cause twisting and bendingof the bottom rollsand even generates heat enougnto'be a firehazard, so that continuous efiiortis requiredto'pick out the lint and'keep the bearings clean: I

It isthe leading 'objectof the present invention'to'provide means shielding these bearing surfaces from the entry of lint, fly and dirt, so that the time and effort heretofore required for ridding the roll journals and bearings of collected fly and lint will be avoided or greatly reduced, and the drag of the bearings caused by the accumulation of these foreign materials in the bearings will be avoided.

Lubrication must be furnished to the bearing surfaces on the journals of the bottom rolls and in the bearings formed therefor in the roll stands. But such lubrication must be applied accurately to the bearing surfaces involved and with great forbearance. The difliculty and degree of restraint involved in applying the lubricant directly to the bearing surfaces is usually too much for the character of help available for this operation, with the result that the misdirected or escaping surplus oil additionally picks up lint and fly which thus collects in and about the bearing surfaces of the roll journals and in the roll stand slots, and also spreads onto the fluted portions of the bottom rolls to be transferred therefrom to the cots of the top rolls and the fibrous material being drafted, with serious impairment of the drawing operation and damage to the cots and the material being worked. Frequent cleaning of the rolls, saddles, can bars, and roll stands is thus compelled. Both the frequent cleaning and the frequent oiling required to replace the escaping oil entail constant expense.

Thus a further object of the present invention is to pro- 'ice vide a means for lubricating the interengagingbearing surfaces of the bottom rolls and roll stands whichwill hold a more liberal supply of oil than can be kept in the bearing and will retain and administer. an adequate supply of oil for a greatly lengthenedpfiridd, so ..as..to cut down the frequency and hence .the expense of reeoiling. The lint shielding and lubricating features will of course be reflected also in reduced costs of operation.

To accomplish these objects, the slots of the rollstands and the bottom roll journals occupying, suchfslots are covered or capped with ,shildseach mounted and fixed in place on the bearing blocks, of a roll'stand. In .the ,preferred form in which the device of the inventiomalso per.- forms its lubricant-retaininggandfsupplying function a pad or pads of felt or other fabric are held incontact .with the journals of the bottom rolls .by the shield; the. felt pads being adapted .to receive andhold 'a supply-of lubricating oil many times, exceedingthatwhich .could safely be otherwise applied to the bearings, and the. surplus oil is retained. in the feltand preventedfrom ,dripping or being thrown by the movingparts. Preferably the felt pads are secured to the metal -'shields'.and the latter are applied to the roll stands over ,the-roll'journals with capacity for being easily removed and replaced .by hand without the useof any tool.

Other objects of the invention, and the mannerof their attainment, are as set forthhereinafter.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is'shown inthe accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view ofa portion. of a capbareless spins ning frame, showing at one end the exposedbottomroll bearings and at the. other the device of theinvention in place covering and shielding suchbearings,andthenbots tom roll journals.

Fig. 2 is aperspective .view of.a, roll1stand.with the improved shield in place thereon.

Fig. 3 is an edge view of the novel cover when used without the felt and for. shielding,purposesalone.

In the. capbar-less spinningjframe shown in. part in Fig. l, the top rolls lare held in place upon the bottom rolls 3 by guides 5 whichengage the necks 4 'and hold them parallel to their, opposingbottom rolls 3, such guides also applying the Weighting force to the rolls" and fthus additionally performing the function of the saddlesused heretofore. The guides 5 are positioned through engagement of their forked rear ends with elements 6 mounted on the usual back bars 7 fixed in sockets 8 of the bearing blocks 19 of the back bottom rolls adjustably mounted on roll stands 9. The construction thus detailed forms no part of the present invention.

The bottom rolls 3 are of conventional type extending continuously throughout the length of the frame, and having journals 11 received in slots 13 of the usual front bottom roll bearing 14 forming as customary an integral part of each roll stand 9, and in slots 15 in the middle and back bottom roll bearing blocks 17, 19, adjustably fixed on roll stands 9.

In accordance with the present invention, a transversely flat metal cover or shield 20 is applied and detachably aflixed to each roll stand 9 in any suitable or preferred manner, herein by means of a thumb screw 21 extending through a slot 23 in the rear end of shield 20 and into a tapped hole in the top surface of back bearing block 19 rearward of the slot 24 in which the traverse rail 25 moves back and forth. This cover overlies the three roll journals 11 and their bearings 13, 15 to exclude lint and fly therefrom, and lies in a plane parallel to the common plane of the top surfaces of the bottom roll journals. The front end of shield 20 is curved downward more or less concentrically with the axis of the journal 11 of front bottom roll 3. This shield is otherwise flat and substantially coextensive with the roll stand.

Beneath the shield 20 is a pad of felt 31 of substantially the same area as the shield and secured thereto at least at its front and rear ends in suitable manner as by cement. This felt pad is held in wiping engagement with journal 11 of the front bottom roll by the downwardly curved forward extremity of the shield, and also with the journals 11 of the middle and rear bottom rolls 3 by the flat portion of the shield. This pad is formed of wool or other sheet material of porous and highly oilabsorbent nature and preferably of uniform thickness, and when impregnated with oil or other suitable lubricant continuously transfers a film of such lubricant to the journal 11 of each bottom roll as the latter rotates in its bearings, thus lubricating the co-engaging faces of the revolving journals and of the stationary bearings.

To provide for easy replenishment of the oil supply in the bearings and the felt pad or reservoir, slots 23 and 37 are made in the shield 20 over the journals of the middle and back bottom rolls, and a rounded notch 41 is provided in the downturned front end of the shield over a portion of journal 11 of the front bottom roll. Thus oil may be quickly and easily injected by a handoiler into the margins of the pad surrounding the slots and notch, in the course of which operation a suitable amount of oil will also be put on the exposed portions of the journals.

Every roll stand in the frame is intended to be supplied with its shield. To prevent lateral displacement of the shield during cleaning of the frame or otherwise, tongues 45 are struck down from the margins of the shield, to engage the rear vertical wall of the front bottorn roll bearing and hold the shield from swinging about screw 21, while the downturned front end cooperates in so doing andalso avoids being caught in wiping ofi? lint from the shield.

Thus arranged, each cover or shield is held in operative relation to its associated roll journals with capacity for being easily and quickly removed by hand and without the use of any tools, when it is desired to clean the bearings, and to be returned to place just as simply and quickly. While the felt pads are preferably secured to their sheet metal caps by merely cementing the ends of the felt to the metal, before any oil is applied to the felt, any suitable means for clipping the felt to the cover may be used.

It is to be understood that the metal cover without the pad may be used alone to shield the bearings, and that the absorbent pad may likewise be used alone and apart from the metal cover, either as a simple shield or as a combined shield and lubricator.

While I have illustrated and described a certain form in which the invention may be embodied, I am aware that many modifications may be made therein by any person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore I do not wish to be limited to the particular form shown, or to the details of construction thereof, but what I do claim is:

1. In a spinning or roving frame, in combination, top drawing rolls having no journals, bottom drawing rolls having journals, guiding and weighting means for the top rolls engaging with the latters necks alone, a roll stand, hearings on the roll stand for the bottom roll journals, a transversely fla't sheet metal cover substantially coextensive with the roll stand and overlying the journals and their bearings in a plan parallel to that of the top surfaces of the bottom roll journals and having portions bent down from its lateral margins engaging fixed parts of the roll stand preventing digression of the cover, and an oil-absorbent pad secured to the cover at the pads front and rear ends and in wiping contact with the journals, the cover having apertures adjacent each roll journal for the introduction of oil.

2. In a spinning or roving frame, in combination, top drawing rolls having no journals, bottom drawing rolls having journals, guiding and weighting means for the top rolls engaging with the latters necks alone, a roll stand, hearings on the roll stand for the bottom roll journals, an oil-absorbent pad of sheet material of uniform thickness disposed in flat and tangent relation to the bottom roll journals, and a transversely flat sheet metal cover holding the pad in contact with the journals, and having downturned portions engaging a fixed part of the roll stand and a rear portion adapted for attachment to a bearing on the roll stand.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 745,897 Parker Dec. 1, 1903 940,551 Patterson Nov. 16, 1909 2,233,957 Northway Mar. 4, 1941 2,635,299 Abernethy Apr. 21, 1953 

